


Taking It Slow: Private Lives

by jaekayelle



Category: Firefly
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-04-03
Updated: 2003-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-29 07:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14468064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaekayelle/pseuds/jaekayelle
Summary: A night on the town.





	Taking It Slow: Private Lives

 

Taking It Slow: Private Lives

## Taking It Slow: Private Lives

### by Jae Kayelle

Title: Taking It Slow: Private Lives 1/1 Author: Jae Kayelle  
Email: writetosell@sasktel.net  
Pairing: Mal/Simon  
Rating: PG13  
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, and Mutant Enemy own the characters. No copyright infringement intended. No profits made from this work of fiction. Spoilers: small one for Jaynestown.  
Summary: a night out on the town.  
Series: first story in the Taking It Slow series. Website: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Crater/7657/index.html 

Business was concluded, there was money in the coffers and some to spare, and all of Persephone was lit up for the night. 

As they stood in Serenity's hold Mal clapped Jayne on the shoulder. 

"C'mon. I'll buy you a beer." 

Jayne looked mildly surprised. "You're gonna buy me a beer?" 

"Sure. I feel like having a night out on the town." 

"Well, no offence but I was gonna go find me a brothel and have a night in." He grinned lewdly. 

"Fine. One beer and then you can go off and have your own brand of fun." 

"Wouldn't hurt you to partake in some feminine companionship once in a while." 

"Likely not, but I think I'll just play it by ear tonight." 

"Come on, Mal," Jayne whined. "You're gonna snap if ya don't get laid soon. How long's it been?" 

Mal's stance grew defensive; his back and shoulders straightened as his expression hardened. 

"Don't see how that's any of your business. Besides, what do you know about my private life?" 

"I live next door to ya and Serenity's walls ain't soundproof. You're always alone; if you have sex at all it's gotta be with your own hand. I ain't never heard no noises. Whenever we get shore leave you spend it drinkin' or talkin' or on the ship doing Captain stuff. Ain't seen ya with a woman in months. Ain't seen ya with a man, either, come ta think of it." 

"And you're...worried about me?" Mal was having trouble wrapping his mind around that. 

"Hell, yeah. The longer you go without, the surlier you get. You ain't much fun anymore, Mal." 

"So you don't want that beer?" 

Jayne looked at him like Mal was particularly dense. "I ain't gonna say no to a free beer. Just lemme get my jacket." 

While Jayne was gone Mal leaned on the railing. He felt uncomfortable that the lack of company in his bed was so obvious that Jayne had noticed. Mal knew that Jayne's only concern was that the merc not be at the wrong end of the Captain's temper. Well, maybe there was some worry that Mal wasn't normal by Jayne Cobb's standards. 

Mal was a private man. He didn't put his relationships on display and he took his time developing them. Jumping into bed with someone he just met wasn't something he did often, either. So what if he used his position as Captain of Serenity as an excuse for not getting involved with crewmembers? That was also his business and not Jayne's or anyone else's. 

He stepped away from the railing when he heard Jayne returning. It looked like the merc had collected someone else to go along with them. Simon was a step behind Jayne, looking a little bewildered. Mal felt an indefinable twinge at the look on his face. 

"I invited the Doc to come with us, Mal. Hope that's okay." 

"It is as long as you didn't break his arm to get him to say yes." 

Jayne looked at Simon's arm and then back at Mal. "I didn't hurt him. I just asked." 

"That's fine. Doctor, you ready for a hard night of drinkin' and carousin'?" 

Simon's dark eyes darted back and forth between the two of them before he replied, "Jayne said he was having one drink with you and that you would probably come back to the ship after a short while." 

Mal's eyes nailed Jayne. "He said that, did he?" 

Jayne shrugged. "Ain't like I'm the only one that figured out what you do with your time - or don't do." 

As Mal sighed inwardly his gaze met Simon's and saw only empathy there. A slight smile turned up the corners of the doctor's mouth. Mal wanted to smile back but was afraid it would come out as a grimace. He must have let something show in his expression, though, because Simon smiled a little wider and glanced away almost shyly. 

That was an intriguing reaction. Mal kept his eyes on Simon just a beat longer and then, seeing Jayne out of the corner of his eye shifting restlessly, he said, "Come on, boys. The night isn't getting any younger." 

As they walked from the docks into town, the other two fell into step on either side of Mal. Jayne had no trouble keeping up with the easy, long-legged pace, but Simon had to move more quickly so that he was nearly trotting. Mal slowed down. When he received a grateful look in response he wondered why Simon hadn't complained. 

They found a bar that looked fairly lively but not too rowdy in case things got out of hand between any of the customers. Mal ordered a round and paid for it. He took a couple of swallows of the brew and watched as Jayne tried not to gulp down the entire contents of his glass. The merc had already spotted prospective female company for the evening and the two were making eyes at one another across the room. 

Mal sighed. "Go on." 

"Thanks, Mal!" Jayne finished his beer and hurried off to join the lady. Mal lost what little interest he had in Jayne's business. He turned instead to Simon. 

The doctor appeared to be enjoying himself. His sharp, intelligent gaze travelled around the room, never lingering for long on any one person or group. He was learning. Paying too much attention to anybody in a place like this usually brought trouble. While Simon people-watched Mal watched him. The younger man still had an air of innocence about him even after months of living with and aiding part-time thieves. When unguarded, his fine-boned face hid nothing of his inner thoughts; it expressed everything and anything, until, of course, he realized it. Mal took pleasure in Simon's pleasure. He wasn't sure when that had become fact, or even when he had become aware of what he was doing. It just seemed to be a natural progression of his life since Simon had become a part of it. Mal did not analyze the reasons. He just let it happen. 

Apparently tiring of staring at strangers Simon switched his gaze to Mal. The hazel eyes regarded him with as much curiosity as they had the other people. It was nearly a full minute before Mal realized he had been caught staring back at Simon, so he lowered his gaze to study the half-full glass of beer on the table in front of him. 

Clearing his throat, Simon fumbled for something to say. What he came up with was, "It certainly is crowded in here tonight. N-not that I know what it's like normally." 

Mal looked up quickly enough to catch the tail end of a wince. He was heartened by it. He didn't want Simon to change. 

"Must be payday for more than just us," Mal replied and was rewarded with another shy, grateful smile. Thinking back to Jayne's observation about his sex life, Mal wondered what Simon did for companionship. He was fairly certain the doctor wasn't warming any bed on Serenity other than his own and was just as sure that he slept alone in his own bunk. The word "relax" was not in Simon Tam's vocabulary. Mal would be astonished to learn if Simon had had sex since he first boarded Serenity. The boy was wound too tight. Mal snorted. Jayne had said the same thing about him. 

"Is something amusing?" Simon asked mildly. 

Nothing he could share. "Just something Jayne said earlier." 

"Jayne said something funny?" 

"Nope. That's the thing." 

"Ah," Simon sounded as if he understood that and maybe he did. 

"When we left Serenity maybe Jayne and me were walking a little too fast for you. How come you didn't ask us to slow down?" 

"It wasn't too bad. I have shorter legs. I get used to almost running to keep up with the two of you." 

"You should have said something," Mal repeated. 

"It's all right," Simon insisted. 

A silence fell between them again, but this time it had an edge to it as he sensed some uneasiness coming from the other man. 

Finally Simon leaned forward slightly over his beer and said, "If you want to go...do whatever Jayne is...that is to say, if you're going to go look for other...company tonight, don't let me stop you. I'll be fine. I can go back to the ship." 

He expected Mal to leave him and go find a whore. 

"In the first place, if I were to go do...that, which I'm not, I'd make sure you got back to the ship safe. And in the second place, I'm not going to...do that. You can, if you want." He tried to make it sound casual. 

"Oh!" Simon sat straighter but then he leaned in again. "N-no. No, I wasn't. I mean I-I hadn't planned on it." A slight flush spread over his cheeks and he tipped his head down to hide it. 

"Well," Mal said. After a pause he continued, "Do you want another drink?" 

"No, I'm good. Thank you." Simon raised his eyes and, when he saw that Mal wasn't judging him or laughing at him, some of his tension flowed away. 

Mal drained the last of his beer and set the glass down. "Then do you want to go?" 

"Back to the ship?" 

"If that's where you what you want." Mal tried to figure out what Simon was really saying. 

"You mean I have a choice?" 

"What do you want to do?" 

"I saw a bookstore down the street. I'd really love to go there and browse." 

"Sounds good. Let's go." 

As they stood up Simon smiled unreservedly and Mal found he was caught in a moment he could not explain. He just stood there with his mouth open a little. 

"Coming?" 

Mal followed the doctor out of the bar and into the street. 

# 

They spent a few quiet hours exploring the bookshop. Neither spoke while they read titles and flipped pages, or sat in two of the plump chairs provided for readers. The proprietor cleared her throat twice and finally asked them to leave so she could close up for the night. Mal and Simon took their purchases with them and they left. 

"Did you find anything good?" Simon asked. He carried, or juggled, five thick books that Mal suspected were medical books. Reaching over, he caught one of them as it started to slide out of the pile and head for the ground. He waited until Simon adjusted the stack according to size, with the biggest ones on the bottom, and then he handed back the one that tried to get away. 

"Thanks." Simon took it and slipped it into place with the ones in his arms. 

"I can carry some of those for you," Mal offered. 

"I'm fine. Thanks." 

"I got one I've been looking for," Mal held out a novel. It was a classic, Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester. "And it's in pretty good shape, too." 

"You're a fan of seafaring adventure tales?" Simon asked inquisitively. Ever since they set foot in the bookstore his face had brightened considerably. Mal found himself wishing he were the one to make Simon look that alive and happy, and then he wondered where that thought had come from. 

Slightly off balance from where his thoughts had led him, Mal had to double back in the conversation before he could answer Simon's question. 

"They're good for late at night before going to sleep." 

"I didn't realize that you are a reader." Simon was looking at him with an expression of delight at finding a fellow bibliophile. 

"Sure. I like to read." 

"Do you have many books in your room...uh, I mean, on board Serenity?" Simon managed to finish the question gracefully but he was blushing again. 

"Some. If you ever want to borrow any of them, just ask." 

"I might do that." 

"What did you buy?" 

"Oh, uh, these are medical texts. This one is a fascinating study of viruses and how they affect our immune systems." 

"Didn't they teach you that in medical school?" 

"Well, yes, but this author chose a different path when she... Never mind," he smiled self-consciously. "I'm sure you won't find it as fascinating as I do." 

"Probably not," Mal said softly. "Right over my head." 

Simon grinned. 

"Well, the others are about the human brain and behavioural anomalies." His smile faded and vanished. "I thought they might help me figure out what's wrong with River." 

"Didn't you get anything to read for pleasure?" 

"I'll enjoy reading these," Simon assured him. 

"To each his own." 

"I suppose, yes. Are we going back to the ship now?" 

Mal glanced around them. "Even Persephone shuts down around this time of night. Except for the brothels and bars." 

"Will we see Jayne again tonight?" 

"Not unless we go knocking on doors." 

"Let's not do that." 

Mal grinned outright. "All right." 

"You don't do that very often," Simon told him. 

"Do what?" 

"Smile -- like you mean it. You should. You have a nice smile." Simon's gaze was on Mal's mouth but then it lifted to meet his eyes. As if realizing that what he had said sounded like flirting, his hazel eyes widened. "Oh." 

Mal couldn't help it. He smiled again with sincerity and the growing affection he felt for the other man. He watched as Simon responded with a dazzling grin of his own. Silently they turned as one and continued walking back to the docks, only now the comfortable feeling between them was deeper and...more comfortable. 

After a while Simon spoke again. "They suit you." 

"What does?" 

"The Hornblower books. A dashing captain commanding his ship and his motley crew." 

Trying but failing to see himself as Simon saw him, Mal replied, "Well, there are days I'd like to order a few of my crew to climb the rigging and let them stay there a while." 

"Jayne?" 

"Him more'n most." 

"He's not so bad." 

At that declaration Mal stopped walking. "What's this? You're defending the man you called "a trained ape without the training"?" 

"Maybe I'm just getting used to him. Tonight when he came to get me to go with you he said that I was to have fun or he'd shoot me." 

"Whoa. He went lookin' for you? I thought he just saw you and brought you along." 

"No. I was cleaning instruments in the infirmary when he came in and asked me to come with the two of you. He was rather insistent, actually." 

Mal shook his head. "That sneaky son of a..." 

"What is it? Didn't you want me to come along?" 

"I had absolutely no objection to you joinin' us. I would've invited you myself many a time if I'd thought you wanted to come with us." 

"Every time we made planetfall I sort of hoped you would ask when it wasn't just about business," Simon told him, and then he looked at him hopefully. "Does this mean what I think it means?" 

"Yup. It means Jayne is smarter than both of us." 

They stood in the middle of the street staring at one another. 

"Did life as we know it just come to a crashing halt?" Simon queried. 

"Quite possibly." Mal cleared his throat nervously. "So. You wanted to spend time with us?" 

"With you. Jayne was just a means to an end. I figured if I had to endure a few hours in his company in order to spend time with you - and not in a ship's captain and ship's doctor kind of way - then it would be time well spent. And why are you looking at me like that?" 

"Like what?" 

"Like you find this funny." 

"Only in an ironical sort of way. I've never been able to find a way to make that very same scenario happen." 

"Then you must not have tried very hard." Simon folded his arms tighter around his books and cocked one eyebrow. 

"I admit it. I didn't try at all." 

"Why not?" There was nothing accusatory about Simon's tone. Mal heard only curiosity. 

"Wasafraidyou'dsayno," Mal mumbled. 

"I -I'm sorry. What was that?" 

"I was afraid you'd say no to spending time with me." 

Simon blinked. "And I was afraid to push my luck with you." 

"Ain't we a pair?" 

Simon's face changed again. He became more serious and whispered, "I hope so." 

Mal swallowed hard in response, feeling like they were on the brink of something. Taking a chance he said, "I'm probably going to do or say something from time to time that will make you crazy mad, but please remember that if that happens it's only because I don't have a real good handle on my feelings, and that I do feel something for you." 

Simon grinned suddenly. "You said, "please"." 

"Did I?" 

"Yeah." 

"Okay." 

They started walking again. 

"So," Mal tried again, "you'll remember that, right?" 

"I'll remember," Simon promised. Then he asked, "You feel something for me?" 

"Yeah, I do." 

"Good. Same here." 

"Good." 

The books in Simon's arms slipped again so Mal reached out and straightened them. Then he thought better of it and took first one and then another from Simon. 

"Let me carry these for you." 

"Thank you, Mal." 

"That's the first time you've called me by name." 

"Oh. I guess so," Simon's eyes widened. "Is it okay?" 

"Oh yeah. It's very okay." 

As they continued their walk, Mal's step was lighter. They were definitely on the brink of something good. 

# end


End file.
